In its only season in its current iteration, the ever-changing Conference USA will be led by an original member that will join the AAC after this season, UAB, and Western Kentucky, one of the conference’s best recent additions and most steadily successful mens’ basketball programs that will try to help keep the C-USA relevant after its great exodus, departing eight schools between the current offseason and next year’s.
The Frontrunner: UAB
With UAB alumnus and former Cincinnati and Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy recently joining the Blazers after a two-year coaching hiatus working for ESPN, UAB fans have been overwhelmingly ecstatic for how the team has performed thanks to an overall 49-15 record and a dominant 27-9 conference record over the last two seasons.
Not only are the Blazers winning, but they are starting to look like the style of play Kennedy’s teams are known for: a fast-tempoed offense, good guard play, strong offensive rebounding and good rim protection.
This fun and successful style of play has helped Kennedy and his staff to add immediate impact talent on the transfer portal and this season is no exception. A major reason for excitement in Birmingham, in addition to their transfer haul, is that the four returning players utilizing their fifth-year of eligibility started a total of 119 games for UAB last season, averaging a combined 45.5 points per game.
The clear cut alpha-dog is Jordan “Jelly” Walker, a dynamite 5’11 170 point guard who has steadily improved in each of his four seasons. Averaging 20.3 points per game last year, Walker is a three-level bucket-getter who is especially efficient from deep (39.6 3p%) and on the charity stripe (88.0 ft%). Walker has the skill and moxie that just looks like a guard that will lead the Blazers through a long tournament run, a Morris Finley, if you will.
Between Walker, physical guard Tavin Lovan, low-post rim protector Trey Jemison and versatile forward KJ Buffen, the Blazers return four former starters utilizing their extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic, providing UAB with arguably the most accomplished collection of returning fifth-year seniors (San Diego State can make the case too), but the preseason hype of the program would not be complete without breaking down their five-man transfer haul.
UAB’s defense last year was notorious for their smothering ability to generate turnovers and the archetype of this style of play was elite perimeter defender Quan Jackson. With Jackson exhausting his eligibility, a major priority this offseason was to replace his two-way ability. Andy Kennedy hit a home run solving this priority by adding LSU’s Eric Gaines. While the former four-star recruit does not have the same height and strength as Jackson, his elite athleticism and length (a 6’9 wingspan!) from the point guard position is remarkable.
The biggest threat to Lovan’s starting spot is ETSU grad transfer Ledarrius Brewer. With 1667 career points across two seasons apiece at Southeast Missouri State and ETSU, Brewer has been the number one scoring option throughout his time in college. Joining Ledarrius is his younger brother Ty Brewer, a 6’7 200 grad transfer who was also at ETSU for the last two seasons. Starting every game last season at the 5, Brewer will likely back up Buffen at the 4, bringing more size and a stretch ability to the backup spot compared to last year’s options.
Last season, LSU transfer Josh LeBlanc was a key component to UAB’s frontcourt defense, but after injuring his knee on February 5th, it was clear that providing another big to tag team with Jemison would be an offseason priority. In April, UAB filled that need by adding Mississippi State transfer Javian Davis.
Helping to replace the lights out perimeter shooting of Ertel is Binghamton transfer Tyler Bertram. The 6’3 185 shooting guard was a part-time starter for the Bears, doing most of his offensive work on the perimeter. Last season, about two-thirds of his shot attempts were from three, making two threes per game and averaging nine points.
In their last year in the Conference USA, the Blazers are poised to be one of the best, if not the king of the conference and one of the most feared underdogs in March Madness, should they earn a bid.
The Top Challenger: Western Kentucky
Finishing the last five seasons within the top-120 of Ken Pomery’s final rankings, Western Kentucky is looking for its first C-USA in the Rick Stansbury era.
While WKU does not have the high-end rotation depth that UAB is spoiled with, and honestly, not many teams do, its top seven or eight players are one of the strongest in the mid-major landscape with the upside to be even deeper.
WKU returns four of its six best players from last year, led by C-USA All-First Team selection Dayvion McKnight. The 6’1 junior stuffed the stat sheet last season averaging 16.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.9 steals per game. Still a reluctant shooter from the perimeter (63 career three point attempts), if McKnight can continue to develop his outside shot to pair with his aggressive attacking at the rim (he improved 18.2 3p% to 34.1 3p%), he has a chance to challenge Jelly Walker as the C-USA Player of the Year.
Returning for their extra year of eligibility, 6’8 230 Jairus Hamilton is a versatile offensive forward with solid stretch ability (averaged 12.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 threes made a 31.6 3p%) and 6’5 205 guard Luke Frampton (8.8 points, 2.1 threes made at 38.6 3p%) finished the season as the most efficient offensive player in the C-USA, according to Ken Pomeroy.
Probably the most nationally recognized returnee is 7’5 235 senior big Jamarion Sharp. Finishing the season with the second best block rate in the NCAA (17.75%), Sharp spent the early part of the offseason in the transfer portal, but his return anchors of one of the tallest starting frontcourts in the nation.
In late August, Boise State transfer Emmanuel Akot surprised the college basketball landscape by decommitting from Memphis and signing with WKU. The 6’8 210 grad transfer last season averaged 10.6 points, 2.8 assists, 1.8 threes made at 38.7%, giving the Hilltoppers a combo forward that can play the 3 alongside Sharp and Hamilton or the 4 with Sharp or in small ball situations with Hamilton at the 5.
The competition at the point guard spot will be shared between Indiana transfer Khristian Lander and Georgia State transfer Jordan Rawls. Playing only nine games at Georgia State after transferring from WKU last offseason, Rawls is more of a traditional point guard, averaging 8.1 points, 2.2 assists and 1.2 threes made at 33.5% in his first two seasons at WKU. A former top-30 commit in the 2020 class, Lander has averaged only 9.7 minutes per game across 39 career games at Indiana, but the explosive lefty, like McKnight, is a crafty finisher who needs to work on his outside shot. If either McKnight or Lander can grow as a perimeter threat, there’s dynamic potential when the two guards share the court.
Buried behind his more touted teammates at Kentucky, former four-star recruit Dontaie Allen brings length and shooting to the wing position. The 6’6 205 junior’s playing time potentially took a major hit after the addition of Akot, but he still will be counted on as a valuable rotation piece.
WKU faces a difficult task of competing against UAB for the C-USA crown, but the Hilltoppers have the talent and the depth to not only earn their first conference title under Stansbury, but also play their way into an at-large bid.
When these two teams match up, it’s must watch TV.
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